Timeline (World of Warcraft)
This page follows the timeline from the release of World of Warcraft through present day as it applies to the players. 2001 September 2 - World of Warcraft announced 2004 . This was the longest-running login screen, being the login for two years and one month.]] Early in the year - World of Warcraft Beta testing November - WoWWiki Launched November 23 - World of Warcraft launches in North America, Australia and New Zealand. * Starting level cap is 60 December 18 - Patch 1.2.0 * Maraudon added 2005 for Kalimdor.]] loading screen.]] February 11 - World of Warcraft launches in Europe March 7 - Patch 1.3.0 *Dire Maul added March 23 - The fist legendary item ever to appear to players in the game drops, . April 8 - Patch 1.4.0 *PvP Honor System May - The Leeroy Jenkins video becomes popular June 7 - Patch 1.5.0 *Battlegrounds introduced **Warsong Gulch **Alterac Valley July 12 - Patch 1.6.0 *Blackwing Lair added *Darkmoon Faire added September 13 - Patch 1.7.0 *Zul'Gurub added *Arathi Basin battleground added *Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza *Corrupted Blood begins as the result of a glitch in Zul'Gurub October 28-29 - BlizzCon *''Burning Crusade'' announced October 10 - Patch 1.8.0 *Corrupted Blood fixed November 23 - WoW Insider (Later WoW.com) launches. 2006 January 3 - Patch 1.9.0 *The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj added *The Temple of Ahn'Qiraj added *Gates of Ahn'Qiraj event begins *Faction-Linked Auction Houses January 23 - Medivh-US becomes the first server to open the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj March 28 - Patch 1.10.0 *High-Level Armor Set Upgrade Questlines *Quest Experience to Gold Conversion at Level 60 *Weather Effects *Linked Flight paths April - The "-50 DKP/More dots" Onyxia Wipe Animation becomes popular. June 20 - Patch 1.11.0 *Naxxramas added July 7 - Wowhead website launched August 22 - Patch 1.12.0 *Cross-Realm Battlegrounds *World PvP Objectives October * Beta begins for Burning Crusade * World of Warcraft Trading Card Game released October 4 - The TV show South Park features a Warcraft-themed episode, Make Love, not Warcraft. December 5 - Patch 2.0.1 *Looking for Group Interface Tool *PvP Arenas 2007 January 9 - Patch 2.0.3 *Dark Portal Opens event **Kruul begins attacking places in Azeroth January 16 - The Burning Crusade Expansion released *Level cap raised to 70 *Outland added *Draenei and Blood Elf Races Added *Eye of the Storm Battleground added May 22 - Patch 2.1.0 *The Black Temple added August 3-4 BlizzCon *''Wrath of the Lich King'' Expansion Announced September 27 - Patch 2.2.0 *Voice chat introduced. November 13 - Patch 2.3.0 *Zul’Aman added *Guild Banks *Mudsprocket quest hub added to Dustwallow Marsh 2008 January - World of Warcraft gets to 10 million subscribers globally March 25 - Patch 2.4.0 *Isle of Quel'Danas added *Magister's Terrace added *Sunwell Plateau added * The Shattered Sun Offensive begins. April 3 - Proudmoore-US becomes the first server to complete the Shattered Sun Offensive July - Beta begins for Wrath of the Lich King October 14 - Patch 3.0.2 *Achievements *Inscription *Barbershop *Several changes were made to the gameworld to prepare for Wrath of the Lich King: **The original Naxxramas removed **Dalaran Removed **Alliance boats rerouted **Stormwind Harbor added **New Horde Zeppelin Towers October 23 *The Zombie Infestation heralds the start of the Second Scourge Invasion November 10 *The Scourge begin regular attacks on Stormwind City and Orgrimmar November 13 - Wrath of the Lich King Expansion released *Level cap raised to 80 *Northrend added *Death knight Class Added *Strand of the Ancients Battleground added November 23 - All players logging in are awarded Baby Blizzard Bear and 2009 to accounts that merged before the deadline.]] April 14 - Patch 3.1.0 *Ulduar added *Argent Tournament added *Dual Talent Specialization Late April - a player is banned for exploiting the game after using a mistakenly-mailed Game Master artifact called . August 4 - Patch 3.2.0 *Crusaders' Coliseum added *Isle of Conquest battleground added *Instance Lock Extension August 21-22 - BlizzCon 2009 *''Cataclysm'' Expansion Announced September 2 - Faction Change service offered. September 22 - Patch 3.2.2 *Onyxia's Lair revamped to level 80 October 12 - Announcement that all World of Warcraft accounts must be merged with Battle.net accounts. October 27 - Race Change service offered November 11, 12 - The deadline passes for account mergers with Battle.net for US, EU players. November 22 - All players logging in are awarded Onyxian Whelpling and December 8 - Patch 3.3.0 * Frozen Halls added * Icecrown Citadel raid added * Cross-Server Instance grouping * Improved Dungeon Finder World of Warcraft